"You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in." — Arlo Guthrie

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Freemasonry: Expectations vs. reality

About ten days ago, Bro. Isaiah Coffey of the Kingdom of Conscience blog asked me to post a series of questions asking for your (if you're a Mason) opinions about Masonry. His hopes were to generate a series of responses to take to his brethren at his Prince Hall lodge, to show them what a broad spectrum of Masons had to say about how they feel about the current state of Freemasonry.

The post has generated maybe four or five actual sets of answers. The balance of the comments (36, so far) has turned into a free-for-all with trolls bashing Freemasonry in general, name-calling, and brothers taking jabs against each other over regularity and grand lodge integrity and various other issues far removed from the original purpose of the article.

I guess Bro. Isaiah got his answer about the current state of Freemasonry. It's not particularly pretty.

I've just realized that I haven't answered his questions, either.

So here goes.

Keep in mind I'm speaking of the Freemasonry I have perceived and experienced locally, that is, membership in an all-white small-town "regular" lodge working under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Georgia, in a town of about 2,500 and a county of about 25,000, where 98% of the population is white.

1. What has changed (good or bad) in your eyes over the course of time?

Having been a member of the fraternity for only five years, I can't speak to how it's changed locally from the distant past until now. Other than my personal experiences and opinions, which have changed drastically these past five years, I really doubt much of anything has changed in my lodge in the past 50 years or more. The group is made up of mostly men who grew up here, whose fathers and grandfathers and maybe even further back were Masons in that lodge. I can think of only a very few members who weren't "from around here." The county on the surface being predominantly a "God-fearing" religious place, I discovered that most of the brothers went to the same churches and held the same conservative Christian dogma, and that many of the brethren were, in fact, brothers, or brothers-in-law, or first cousins. These non-Masonic relationships led down two avenues. First, many of the men had long-standing family squabbles unrelated to Masonry that led to a lot of "bad talking," and secondly, many of these men had unseen and unexpected "good ol' boy" ties that I wasn't always aware of.

In general, change in the lodge is frowned upon. "That's the way we do it around here" was probably the most common phrase I heard in the lodge, second only to "Let the officers take their stations." It didn't matter if the way it had "always" been done was a tradition started two weeks earlier, or 20 years ago, or back in the Dark Ages, I was constantly seeing that the Freemasonry I had read about and expected took a backseat to how it had evolved in my lodge.

2. What do you miss the most about the Craft that doesn't take place anymore?

I miss the feeling of brotherhood that I felt during the first year or two of being a Mason. As I saw there were ties stronger than Masonic bonds between various factions and cliques, I slowly became more disillusioned.

3. What is your opinion of the Brothers of today as in contrast to those when you were Initiated, Passed and Raised?

When I first joined, I respectfully treated everyone in my lodge as a brother, and expected to be treated the same way. My high regard for some of the brothers deteriorated as I saw that not everyone took their obligations of brotherly love seriously. My first indication that brotherly love didn't "prevail" came in watching the interactions between long-time Masons. Brother X noticeably wouldn't shake hands with Brother Y, and Brother A always had some locker-room put-down ready for Brother B. Yeah, some people would call it good-natured macho male fun, always laughingly putting down someone's weight, hairstyle or beard, small stature, or joking about how someone's wife was "gonna beat you," but it just never seemed Masonic to me. I mean, I could hear (and join in) that kind of stuff by joining a bowling league, getting a job on a construction site, or becoming a regular in a bar. I had hoped I was joining a group of more enlightened, intelligent and refined men to lift me up intellectually, spiritually and emotionally. Instead of being lifted up, I just heard all their put-downs.

4. What did it mean to be a Freemason "back in your day?"

Back in "my day," otherwise known as the first three years I was a Mason, being a Freemason meant enjoying the fellowship of my lodge brothers, attending meetings, being an officer, visiting other lodges and often sitting in as an officer in their meetings, learning and teaching the rituals and catechisms, joining the York Rite, getting up at 4 a.m. to help with Masonic-sponsored events like the yearly road race for charity and the Widow's Breakfast at Christmas, taking gift baskets to shut-in widows, going to district meetings and schools of instruction, keeping the building clean, talking Masonic history and esoterica with the (very) few brothers who had an interest, and striving to be a better man.

5. What is your perspective on the Fraternity as a whole?

Freemasonry, in general, has become something different than it was intended to be. This problem is inherent in all organizations. Lofty ideals become dogma, ideas contrary to the purpose of a group creep in and eventually become set in stone, and the whole reason for being is forgotten as egos jockey for control. It happens everywhere, but it's all the more sad in Freemasonry, because without the lofty ideals, and with the now-too-common ego games, Freemasonry really is just an old man's coffee and donut club for the masses and a stroll down Ego Lane for those who think themselves important by wearing gold chains around their necks and fancy titles on their nametags.

Freemasonry can be saved, but it won't be easy. It probably cannot be saved in its current form. Grand lodges have claimed too much power, and the myrmidons have without struggle let them take it. The system, as it is, seems broken beyond repair. A new, more spiritual Freemasonry may — we can hope — rise from the ashes produced as "Rome" burns. Something new has to happen.

6. Is your perception of the Craft the same as it was when you first were made a Mason?

No.

7. Is Freemasonry what you thought it would be?

No.

If not, what did you expect Freemasonry to be?

Inspired by knowing a kind and helpful Mason who was my next-door neighbor when I was growing up and a kindly Mason-friend who led an exemplary life who signed my petition, and fueled by repeated readings of conspiracy theories, Masonic pseudo-histories, and Robert Anton Wilson's The Illuminatus Chronicles, I expected (or at least hoped) Freemasonry would be a morally-upright, enlightened, spiritual-minded (but not dogmatically religious) camaraderie of exemplary modern-day knights who through right thinking, good deeds, esoteric, psychological and scientific study, and perhaps a bit of "magick," made the world a better place, a group I would be proud and honored to be a part of.

27 comments:

I spoke with brother the other day who said something that made sense to me. He said that the reason why Masonry can't progress in the United States is because of the appendant bodies. They are opposed to change because the fear it would take members away from them and put them back in the lodges. He referred to this as being a "corporate mentality".

He pointed-out that in the past lots of new appenadnt bodies had been created to meet the needs of different type of people with varied interests. Now that these have become "corporative" they fight against any changes that might effect their own membership and income streams.

If this theory is correct then the present GL system is destined to fail.

I'm sorry you feel that way, brother. After reading many masonic blogs like yours, I am glad that I "got lucky" and joined a lodge that (on first impressions) doesn't do much of that which you have seen. While I do not know all of the brothers yet, I am familiar with the officers; who are always willing to extend a friendly grip on sight. Being young and stupid, I enter my lodge by looking beyond any perceived imperfections and see where I can make a difference.-NOVA FC

I'm like nova, I'm sorry you feel that way about the craft. I could imagine that situation would be more local due to the small population and history of the area. Fortunatly, I have come across a mild form of your situation but I find that the newer, more intelligent, web-savvy, open minded members is who I gravitate to for more light. It is they who are in the same quest as us; to learn, grow, while looking out and supporting one another. For a while I personally thought to myself, why not the lions, rotary, kiwanis, oddfellows, ect? Well, its NOT becuase of the people, its what the organization stands for itself. Freemasonry is really an amazing insitution for what it stands for. Its just sad that some members don't take it to heart nor apply themselves to it. As I have been repeatedly told "You get out of it what you put into it." But then again, as a single person, you only can do so much.

I know your views on religion and I see it more than ever today. But I have the opinion that its becuase the people are "Christians on Sunday" or "Masons at lodge." If we truly take these teachings to heart and effectivly put them into practice, I don't ever see your situation coming about again. As a member of my chruch, I see some people are in it for the culture more than a religion. But what the chruch stands for is amazing, and to me, I try to live by its teachings. For the most part, members are in the same quest as one another, and that is to become better and improve. Like I said, I'm not in it for the people.

the church is a symbol of inequality and tyranny since the beginning of man...not until recently has the church had to change and not one apology for the centuries of torture!30,000,000 women were killed by the inqusition for being "witches"the church gave the order to kill demoleythe church and what it stands for?what is that?

*ahem*Don't you think that somebody would have noticed that a third of the population of Europe was missing?

Yes, it seems like I'm being pedantic by picking on this very poorly researched fact of yours, but I see it as representative of the kind of arguments that most antis tend to use. You tend to argue points that have long since been disproved, you tend to use figures that have been poorly researched (when not made up from whole cloth) and you tend to equate situations that are not related to create some kind of analogy.

Most people who have a problem with Masonry are still using the same tired arguments that Pope Leo used a century and a half ago - an argument born out of frustration and confusion and not out of actual spiritual dissension.

The P2 lodge was expelled from the fraternity long before they got so far out of hand to wreak havoc on the Italian government - how do you think they got that far, anyway? It was after the expulsion that they had no overseeing authority, and could act with impunity.

And the Church of Rome? Yeah, they had the Inquisition, but Catholic missionaries have brought healing and education to many parts of the world.

Maybe you would be better off looking for those underground bases in the Denver Airport. Now that I'm wearing a purple apron, I get to ride in the black helicopters whenever I want!

It must be noted that during the Inquisition, few, if any, real, verifiable, witches were ever discovered or tried. Often the very accusation was enough to see one branded a witch, tried by the Inquisitors' Court, and burned alive at the stake. Estimates of the death toll during the Inquisition worldwide range from the scholarly estimate of 1,450 to 1,700, to the popular estimates of 600,000 and as high as 9,000,000 (over its 250 year long course); any of these estimates is a chilling number when one realizes that nearly all of the accused were women, and consisted primarily of outcasts and other suspicious persons. Old women. Midwives. Jews. Poets. Gypsies. Anyone who did not fit within the contemporary view of pieous Christians were suspect, and easily branded “Witch”. Usually to devastating effect

Catholic Canon Law Says Catholics Can Kill Protestants

As most of us know, the Catholic religion plunged Europe into the dark ages and has terrorized and killed multitudes. According to their own canon law, anyone who will not submit to the Roman monster is called a heretic (I gladly fit into this Catholic category). According to their canon law, a heretic is to be purged by the following steps:

I. Excommunication. This sentence is to be pronounced not only on notorious heretics, and those suspected of heresy, but also on those who harbour, defend, or assist them, or who converse familiarly with them, or trade with them, or hold communion of any sort with them. So anybody who refused the Papists, or was suspected of it, or even talked to them, was excommunicated. This sounds like some Hitler or the Red Scare.

II. Proscription from all offices, ecclesiastical or civil,--from all public duties and private rights. So the folks in number one above no longer had any rights or jobs to support their families. It gets worse.

III. Confiscation of all their goods.

Shortly after this decision, the municipal authorities of Paris were summoned. They were ordered to shut the city gates and to arm the citizenry in order to prevent any attempt at an uprising. The king's Swiss Guard was given the task of killing a list of leading Protestants. It is difficult today to determine the exact chronology of events and to know the moment the killing began. It seems a signal was given by ringing bells for matins (between midnight and dawn) at the church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois, near the Louvre, which was the parish church of the kings of France. Before this, the Swiss guards had expelled the Protestant nobles from the Louvre palace and then slaughtered them in the streets. Admiral Coligny was dragged from his bed by the Duke of Guise himself, killed, and his body thrown out of the window. The tension that had been building since the Peace of St. Germain now exploded in a wave of popular violence. The common people began to hunt Protestants throughout the city. The ferocity of the slaughter was incredible. Chains were used to block streets so that Protestants could not escape from their houses. Women and children were butchered in cold blood. The massacre lasted several days, despite the king's attempts to stop it. Among the slain were the composer Claude Goudimel and the philosopher Petrus Ramus.

The two leading Protestants of the kingdom, Henry of Navarre and the Prince of Condé, were spared as they pledged to convert to Catholicism; both would renounce their conversion when they had escaped Paris.

From August to October, similar apparently spontaneous massacres of Huguenots took place in other towns, such as Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lyon, Bourges, Rouen, and Orléans. The number of victims is unknown, with figures varying between 2,000 and 100,000. Some recent historians estimate the number of dead at 2,000 in Paris, and 5,000 to 10,000 in the rest of France. At any rate only a short time afterwards the reformers were preparing for a fourth civil war.

yes the church is resposable for soooo much good over time, I am willing to forget all the killing they did to get their hold, to think they are ok now,

I still have not heard an apology from the church for all these killings.....

yes the church is resposable for soooo much good over time, I am willing to forget all the killing they did to get their hold, to think they are ok now,

I still have not heard an apology from the church for all these killings.....

Do I understand that you are angry at something which happened 400 years ago, and it's left you with a difficult time in being able to manage your daily life?

One would think that you should be able to find a better use for that kind of spiritual energy.

The Church of Rome has not been able to arrest and torture heretics for a couple of centuries. They have lost almost all of their authority over national governments and kingdoms. There are, however, pockets of Protestant fundamentalism all over the US and the UK which are influencing local governments, with laws and zoning ordinances affecting everything from alcohol use to sex toys. Instead of railing against one of the very many centuries-old examples of violence and subjugation, why not concentrate your energies on something a bit more relevant?

i have to agree with the general sway of this article. I found everyone to be very helpful and respectful when I first signe dup, but after my annual dues were paid, it seems I am much lower priority now.

I've been looking for another lodge to join recently, but not as hopeful as I once was. I believe private study may be the answer for a while.

i find it difficult at this strange point in my masonic life to NOT agree with your initial q-and-a, widow's son.

as you may or may not remember, i was initiated in november last year, and was passed in may this year. i have taken office (as of tonight, in fact) as I.G, and i'm finding it difficult to see why i was so interested in the first place in this grand fraternity.

blessed am i that i am not experiencing the difficulties you have dealt with, here in my australian lodge; however, i'm finding my brothers (who are all at least 25 years my senior) are more concerned with the proper angle of my signs and my ability to sing the correct hymn more than discussing (what i feel) to be the more important and emblematic qualities of freemasonry.

it just seems to me that nowhere am i actually guided through our beloved principles, except through the obvious degree work. yes, we have a "masonic lecture" every now and then, but it still leaves me wondering:

is this all there is?

i KNOW theres more than just doing the right sign at the right time; theres more than simply knowing when NOT to make a mistake when delivering a charge.

so where is it?

i speak, i fear, from the shackles of youth and inexperience. after all, i am what my mother-in-law affectionately calls a "baby mason".

i know i have made the right decision with joining, and for the most part, i am happy to continue this for the rest of my life. indeed, i will.

i just feel as though there is more. and i'm wondering where it is. perhaps joining a lodge of masonic studies would do the trick.

i fear if i am not appeased soon, eventually i will start to notice the more, shall we say, unsavoury aspects of my brothers and the fraternity - in much the same way you have.

I'm hardly one to give advice on Masonry. I don't think I know what it's about anymore, either. In my own lodge I've experienced very little of what I expected Freemasonry to be like; instead, it seemed to be a do-little group of mostly elderly men who worry, as you say, a lot about right angles and correct wording, but who know little or nothing about why any of it should matter. It's a lot of form, with little substance.

I remember a special meeting called by our 2005 Worshipful Master to work out the disagreements caused by my Masonic Ambush.

One good brother, who knew all the catechisms by heart, and who probably knew more about Masonic history and lore and meaning than anyone ever a member of my lodge, stood to speak (on my behalf). A Past Master, one of my ambushers, interrupted him by telling him, "You don't know what Masonry really is." I never did ask that PM what Masonry "really is," but I would imagine his answer would be "it's the way we do it here." Another PM at that meeting, also one of the three ambushers, jumped up, banged his chair loudly, and left the room rather than listen to the brother who supported me speak. Apparently, he, too, knew what Masonry "really is," and showed us how it was supposed to be practiced.

Be proud to be a "baby Mason." Youth has its place, and youth is interested in learning. Fifty-year Masons, in my experience, never bothered to learn a thing about Freemasonry after they recited their catechisms when they were raised.

Like you, I'm glad I became a Mason. But I often wonder why I did, or why I'm glad. I've met some great men because of my membership in Masonry, but I've also seen how low men of supposed "honor" can stoop when someone honestly disagrees with them. In Freemasonry, I've seen the best of men, and I've seen the worst of them.

If I had any advice at all for you, I'd simply say, find what interests you in Masonry and study it further, whether it's esoterica, mysticism, history, ritual, charity work, or just improving your pancake-making skills. Enjoy the brotherhood where you find it, and don't get too upset when you don't find it.

Somewhere along the line, probably due to mental laziness, the fraternity, generally speaking, devolved into all form and little substance. Professionals and "thinking-men" stopped joining, because, as you have discovered, they asked "is this all there is?" and discovered the answer is yes.

Travel well in your Masonic explorations, brother, but don't expect too many of your brethren to follow you, or to approve the paths you choose.

Masonry is not going to have a major comeback. The human attention span is just to short. All the things that you have to put to memory. I spent six years getting my masters degree. Like I want to sit and study masonry. Give me a break. Even with the one day programs. Masonry is in huge decline because it's to dated. This isn't the 1800's or even the 20' and 30's anymore.

that's two posts i have read from you, paul, that show an amazing lack of logic.

unlike the last one, found in the comments of the priest sex report, i'm going to have to say a few thing.

"Masonry is not going to have a major comeback. The human attention span is just to short."

you're speaking for all humans. that's a little silly. my attention span is increasing now that i have found many different discoveries in my short life that i wish to examine further. you guessed it, freemasonry is one.

"All the things that you have to put to memory. I spent six years getting my masters degree. Like I want to sit and study masonry. Give me a break. Even with the one day programs."

those "things you have to put to memory" require discipline and intellect. such "things" deserve my full attention, as they will ultimately provide me with the tools of discipline i can apply to other areas of my life.

i wrote a thesis at university two years ago, requiring ten hour days, 6 days a week. i would gladly do it again, as i was absorbed in my work and gained much from it - particularly pride and satisfaction. such a deep subject such as history and morality can not be learned in a "day's course". by the way, isn't studying the chrsitian bible not something you can complete in a day? isn't that insulting to pretty much all christians?

"Masonry is in huge decline because it's to dated. This isn't the 1800's or even the 20' and 30's anymore."

apart from the grammatical nightmare the above quote is, i find it difficult to understand exactly where this information is coming from. there are trends in everything - and if you'll do your research, perhaps the numbers in a christian church is declining too? without a reference, i refuse to push that point - but i think you'll find i'm correct.

i'm 25 and have recently joined freemasonry. i can't speak for all 25 year-old men, but interest is still there. perhaps masonry will not enjoy the hey-day of the post-war period; but i'd argue it's far from declining.

"Paul"

st paul, from my reading, is the reason we have this bastardised version of christ's teachings now. careful study will reveal christianity is far from what christ would have wanted, or preached. an apt username you have.

You want some more? That's just the first page. So yes masonry as whole is in decline. And boy it's breaking my heart. It looks to me like you are the one who need a logic check.Was or was not masonry huge in the 1920's and 30's? Yes this was its hay day. I really don't think you are part of any lodge what so ever.

Yeah out of all the offical freemasons sites out their, I see only older gents. I very rarely see anyone who is 25 and younger. But judging from your comments you are about 8 years old.

And since C.Z. likes english so much lets take a look at his shall we?

c.z that's two posts i have read from you, paul, that show an amazing lack of logic.

Upper case T when starting a new sentence.

C.Z. unlike the last one, found in the comments of the priest sex report, i'm going to have to say a few thing.

Upper case U when starting a new sentence.

C.Z. you're speaking for all humans. that's a little silly. my attention span is increasing now that i have found many different discoveries in my short life that i wish to examine further. you guessed it, freemasonry is one.

Upper case Y when starting a new sentence.

C.Z. i wrote a thesis at university two years ago, requiring ten hour days, 6 days a week. i would gladly do it again, as i was absorbed in my work and gained much from it - particularly pride and satisfaction. such a deep subject such as history and morality can not be learned in a "day's course". by the way, isn't studying the chrsitian bible not something you can complete in a day? isn't that insulting to pretty much all christians?

Upper case letters are to be used with words like I. Now do you remember the rule of a uppper case being used when starting a new sentence?

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